Thirds to timothy merrick and george n



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

w. R. ,LANDPEA-R. STAMP OANGELING MACHINE.

No; 487,626.. Patented Dec. 6, 1892.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

w. LANDPEAR. STAMP GANGELING' MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 6,1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. LANDFEAR, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO TIMOTHY MERRIOK AND GEORGE N. TYNER, OF HOLYOKE,

MASSACHUSETTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,626, dated December 6, 1892.

Application filed June 11, 1892.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. LANDFEAR, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful 5 Improvement in Stamp-Canceling Machines,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in stamping and canceling machines in which the letters are fed from a hopper into contact with a canceling-wheel, and are thence deposited in position to be stacked preparatory to packing.

The general features of this machine, so far as the feed and canceling mechanism is concerned, are quite similar to the corresponding parts in my pending application, Serial No. 400,292, allowed May 13, 1892.

My present invention is directed to the means for supplying ink to the cancelingwheel and the means for stacking the letters as they are discharged from the cancelingwheel.

- A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the machine with the inking mechanism and stacker in position as in use, and Fig. 2 is a section from front to rear through the lineat 0c of Fig. 1.

The hopper, set oblique to the. horizontal plane, is represented by A.

The shaft upon which the canceling-wheel O is fixed is denoted by B, and the drivingpulley through which power is applied to the shaft B from a source of power (not shown) is denoted by D.

The feed-roller which co-operates with the canceling-wheel O to conduct the letter from the hopper and discharge it is denoted by 0, and is geared with a spur-wheel c on the shaft B.

The stop for arresting the letters at the bottom of the hopper and for permitting them to pass into engagement with the cancelingwheel at regular intervals is denoted by E, and the foot-piece for detaining the letters after they have passed the stop E and while they are being seized by the canceling and printing type is denoted by e.

The parts above enumerated are quite simithroughout a short portion of its length with Serial No. 436,294. (No model.)

lar to the corresponding parts in my pending application, before referred to, and a more detailed description thereof is herein omitted.

The inking-roller F is mounted in a swinging support f, and there is fixed to rotate with the roller a disk f, which is adapted to swing into and out of engagement with a rim G at one side of and fixed to rotate with the canceling wheel 0. The rim G is provided a raised or cam portion g, which, coming in contact with the under side of the disk f, will lift the inking-rolling F intooontact with the ink-supply pad or roller F. The ink-supply pad or roller F is mounted in the mouth of an ink-supply tank H, that portion toward the interior of the tank 11 being in position to become saturated with the ink, and as the part charged with the ink is exposed to the exterior of the trough it parts with its ink to the roller F, by which the ink is transferred to the faces of the type and canceling devices on the canceling-wheel.

In order to positively operate the ink-supply pad or roller, so as to presentathoroughlyinked surface to the roller F, I provide a ratchet-toothed wheel f mounted to rotate with the pad or roller F, and mount a spring-actuated pawlf upon the swinging supportf, so that when the latter is swung upwardly by the engagement of the disk f with the cam g'the .pawl f will engage the ratchet-toothed wheel f and rotate the pad or roller F just before the inking-roller F engages with said pad.

The supply of ink to the faces of the type and canceling devices is made dependent upon the passage of the letters through the hopper in the following manner: A swinging arm I depends from the swinging support f and extends through a slot in the side of the hopper, its free endt within the hopper being beveled, so that a letter K falling to-the bottom of the hopper will push it to one side out of the way, as indicated in Fig. 2, against the tension of a light spring 11, which tends to hold it normally in contact with the wall of the hopper opposite that where it enters. The arm I is provided on its shank with a nose '5 which is adapted to engage an oifset a on the exterior of the hopper when the arm I is not pressed rco back by the insertion of a letter. The offset a is of such a height that when the nose 2' rests thereon it will hold the disk f out of engagement with the rim G and the inking-roller F out of engagement with the face of the typecanceling devices. The arm I will be lifted to such a height as to enable its nose i to engage the offset a whenever the cam g engages the disk f So long, however, as letters K are fed to the hopper the arm I is pressed back out of engagement with the offset a and the inkingroller F will continue to ink the type and canceling devices. A rock-shaft L is journaled in arms a and provided with a crank Z, which has in its end an elongated slot Z, which receives a pin 12, set eccentrically in the end of the shaft B, forming, in efiect, a crank on said shaft. To the rock-shaft L there is fixed a depending stacker M, consisting in the present instance of a thin plate, the upper portion m of which extends in a direction to direct the letter as it is discharged from the canceling-wheel to its position within the receivingtrough O, and the lower portion m of which is bent at an angle to the upper portion and occupies such a position relative to the vertical as to give the letters a slight tilt over against the support P. As the shaft B revolves, itrocks the shaft L, and thereby causes the stacker M to move back and forth away from and toward the support P, the movements being so timed that the stacker M moves away as the letter is discharged from the canceling-wheel and receives it between its lower portion 'm' and the stack or support P, and then before another letter falls presses the letter which has just dropped into position over against the support or the letters which have previously fallen and at the same time moves the whole stack and the support P along the trough O a distance equal to the width of one of the letters. The support P is simply an angle-plate resting loosely in the trough O, and is employed to prevent the letters from falling over as they are stacked by the stacker M. The stacker M may be conveniently adjusted on the rock-shaft L by means of set-screws m extending through its bearings and impinging against the shaft.

To prevent a retrograde movement of the stack after it has been advanced by the stacker, I provide a stop consisting in the present instance of a plate Q, which extends upwardly from the angle of the trough and spaced from one side thereof, and so arranged that the advance movement of the stacker will carry the letter past the edge of the plate and permit it to fall against the side of the trough in advance of the edge of the plate, which then becomes an abutment to hold the letter and those in front of it in their advanced positions. I also provide a stop g on the side of the trough which engages the end of the letter, and this acts, in conjunction with the stop Q, to hold the letter at both its side and end. The falling of the letter past the edge of the stop Q, hereinabove referred to, will take place under the influence of gravity, the trough being set in a laterallytilted position or with its walls transversely oblique to the path in which the letter falls from a canceling-wheel, so as to give the letter a natural tendency to tilt edgewise.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with the hopper, the canceling-wheel, means for operating it, an inking-roller, and means for moving the inking-roller toward and away from the cancelingwheel, of an arm supported to move with the inking-roller and having an engagement with a fixed support to hold the inking-roller away from the faces of the type, said arm being under the control of the falling letter within the hopper to hold it away from said fixed support and allow the inking-roller to engage the type on the canceling-Wheel, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the hopper, the canceling-wheel, the ink-supply, and the vibratinginkingroller, of a spring-actuated arm depending from the inking-roller support and extended normally across the interior of the hopper, and a fixed stop with which said arm is adapted to engage and hold the inkingroller away from the canceling-wheel, the said arm being under the control of a letter within the hopper to hold it out of engagement with said fixed stop, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the cancelingwheel and means for operating it, of the reciprocating stacker, the laterally-tilted receiving-trough along which the stacker is adapted to move, and a stop on the face of the trough in position to hold the letter during its passage over it out of its subsequent adjustment under the influence of gravity, substantially as set forth.

WILLIAM R. LANDFEAR.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, I. B. DECKER. 

